Northeast Ohio schools use energy costs as budget tool

Duncan Scott/DScott@News-Herald.com

Brian Keipert, director of maintenance for Painesville School District, can monitor and control the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems in the district's school buildings remotely.

School districts, like governments and families, have to figure out how to stretch a budget during tight economic times.
Having to accommodate for multiple buildings, many administrators and school boards have turned to energy conservation methods to improve buildings and reduce energy and utility costs in the long term.
At its March 10 meeting, the Euclid School Board unanimously voted to authorize a contract with Cenergistic Inc. to help save on energy costs for the district.
Cenergistic, of Dallas, Texas, is an energy conservation company that will work with Euclid School District to reduce its energy consumption.
It was reported at the meeting that the company plans to change behaviors within the district to help save it money over the next several years.
The company will help to reduce the district’s costs for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, gas, water and electricity.
There is no financial risk for the district to use this company, which will be paid with the savings they provide the district.
It is predicted over a 10-year period that the company will save $3.2 million from Euclid School District’s operating budget, according to information provided at the meeting.
Audrey Holtzman, marketing and public relations specialist for Euclid Schools, said all four elementary schools in the district are rated LEED Silver, which means the buildings meet specific requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
In 2008, Euclid’s Central Middle installed new boilers, boiler controls, a new chiller and chiller control, she said. The school also has a new lighting system that was part of an Ohio House Bill 264 project.
House Bill 264, also known as the state’s Energy Conservation Program, was enacted in 1985 and allows school districts to make energy efficiency upgrades to buildings and use the resulting cost savings to pay for the upgrades.
The energy efficiency moves are paying off for Euclid. Holtzman said the four new elementary schools recently received a rebate of $47,000 from FirstEnergy.
“Energy efficient schools serve two purposes: to help create sustainability for the district as well as ensuring a more ecofriendly footprint,” she added.
Willoughby-Eastlake Schools also used House Bill 264 to update lighting throughout the district. Before the upgrade, all of the buildings were fitted with lights that used energy inefficient T12 electric ballasts that use the long, fluorescent tube-style light bulbs, which aren’t manufactured anymore, W-E Superintendent Steve Thompson said.
“We had the entire district with T12s and (it was an) outrageous amount for the energy consumption, plus the bulbs were becoming extremely expensive,” he said. “We changed all the ballasts out to T8, which are energy efficient and converted to the energy efficient light bulbs. And then throughout the entire district, we also replaced all of our electric boilers.”
Before the switch, Thompson said the district was spending 32 cents per kilowatt hour on energy. Now it’s roughly half that number.
The upgrade ideas for W-E came from a 2010 assessment done on the districts buildings by the Ohio Schools and Facilities Commission. South High School also received some HB 264 money, which covered the cost of the HVAC system.
“Where it gets a little bit complex is then the rest of the renovation at South was paid for through qualified school construction bond money. Qualified school construction bond money requires the community to vote and the community approved that. It was $22 million,” he said. “The last of that $22 million will be spent this summer in a renovation at North High School, so that will be essentially our last project as things stand.”
The new lights are also equipped with sensors that can detect when a room is occupied and will automatically turn off when no movement is detected, Thompson added.
“The dollar amount we’re saving on energy conservation, our bills were cut and we saved about $900,000 per year,” he said. “Our electric bill is nowhere near where it was. We need to space this out over more time to get a clear number, but we’re hitting right around $900,000 savings on utility bills.”
Painesville School District is also riding the high-technology wave when it comes to school buildings. The district, which replaced its school buildings in the last seven years, has seen the heating bills drop by 50 percent from when it had the old buildings, said Jim Haffa, director of business operations.
Haffa said the difference is hugely notable when comparing the operation of the district’s administration building, which was built in 1893, to one of the school buildings where the temperature of each individual classroom can be individually controlled.
“We had antique heating systems in the old schools. There were the old system with the radiators and all that,” said Brian Keipert, director of maintenance for Painesville School District. “The new buildings have both heating and cool and each room is controlled individually. In the old schools we were spotty with our air conditioning because most were window units.”
Instead of visiting each school separately, Keipert said he can now troubleshoot problems at all schools from his office in Harvey High School.
Beachwood School District also has made advancements toward making its high school more ecofriendly.
During the recent $35.6 million renovation of Beachwood High School, $5.6 million was set aside for energy conservation initiatives, which included better lighting, new windows and a new HVAC system, said Doug Levin, director of marketing and development for Beachwood Schools.
The HVAC system is expected to be 30 percent more efficient than the system it replaced, and the high school is on track to earn LEED certification.
“It’s not all about cost savings, but the footprint we are leaving and the impact on the community,” Levin added.

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